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NRO controversy is over, for the time being

By Rana Qaisar

ISLAMABAD: The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was missing on the ‘order of the day’ for the National Assembly which went into (17th) session on Monday afternoon, a few hours after a “breaking news” flashed on a private TV channel that MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain had asked President Asif Zardari to resign.

Though Altaf Hussain, speaking to the same TV channel, did not say this in so many words, he asked the president to “sacrifice” in the interests of democracy and the political system. The message appeared to be loud and clear – don’t bring the NRO in parliament. And this was exactly what the president decided in a meeting with the PPP ministers, his aides and key MNAs.

“The meeting decided not to take the NRO to parliament,” presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a press release. The president had clearly stood isolated on the issue of the NRO – the MQM, ANP and JUI-F were unlikely to take an unpopular political decision. MQM’s Haider Abbas categorically said his party would vote against the NRO. The ANP and JUI-F had also expressed unwillingness to support this controversial ordinance and if they would not vote against it, they would possibly abstain from voting.

The unanimously elected PM, however, told the National Assembly after the PML-N and the PML-Q had walked out that the government would never take a decision (on the NRO) without building a consensus. Obviously, he cannot afford his government being voted out in parliament. And it was expected that he, amid increasing pressure from the opposition and also being cognizant of the fact that there was a strong possibility of the Supreme Court striking down the NRO even after it was passed by parliament, would not take the risk of bringing it to parliament for voting.

The “advice” of the MQM commander-in-chief to the supreme commander of the country was understandably to take a position and stay away from any controversy on this issue at a time when the PPP was already in the dock and the political environment had started heating up. The PML-N decided to protest against the NRO outside parliament today, the Tehrik-e-Insaaf had already announced a countrywide campaign from Friday, and the PML-Q was also opposed to it.

Though the government took the decision not to bring the NRO to parliament late on Monday night, the mood in the National Assembly had suggested that the government might not bring the NRO to parliament and let it lapse. The president, who is one of the main beneficiaries of this ordinance, enjoys constitutional immunity and the cases against him cannot be reopened as long as he is holding the office of head of state.

Speaking on a point of order, Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar had warned the government against “validating” serious crimes through parliament as it would weaken the elected institution. “Voting for the NRO will also be a violation of the oath we have taken as members of this house … go to the judiciary it is independent,” Nisar said and another Chaudhry, Pervez Elahi, asked the government to first give the names and inform the house as to who had benefited from the NRO.

The opposition parties in the National Assembly were ready to shoot down the NRO. And in the numbers game it was possible that in case the MQM, ANP and JUI-F had decided to abstain from voting, leaving the PPP in the lurch, the PML-N and the PML-Q would reject the NRO. Though the PML-N and the PML-Q are still poles apart, they were visibly united on the NRO and they not only demonstrated this by chanting anti-NRO slogans but also jointly walked out of the house.

The Supreme Court in its July 31 decision on the judges’ case had asked the parliament to endorse or reject the NRO within four months and the last date is November 28. It was just a matter of days but better sense prevailed and the government decided not to bring the NRO to parliament.

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